


The Cilantro Incident and Other Vignettes

by JazTheBard



Series: Lords of Amon Ereb Verse [1]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst, Cilantro-Related Angst, Family, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Kidnap Dads, Prompt Fic, guest appearances of OCs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 9,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazTheBard/pseuds/JazTheBard
Summary: A collection of short fics, mostly prompts from my tumblr, set in my Lords of Amon Ereb 'verse. Collected here and placed in chronological order.
Relationships: Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur, Elrond Peredhel & Maedhros | Maitimo, Elrond Peredhel & Maglor | Makalaurë, Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maedhros | Maitimo, Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maglor | Makalaurë
Series: Lords of Amon Ereb Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811929
Comments: 199
Kudos: 189





	1. The Kidnapping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KittenWolf29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittenWolf29/gifts), [starlightwalking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/gifts), [Philosophizes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Philosophizes/gifts), [fingonsradharp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fingonsradharp/gifts), [8Lottie8](https://archiveofourown.org/users/8Lottie8/gifts), [sisters_of_the_moon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisters_of_the_moon/gifts).



> figured i ought to post these here between chapters of jailbird :)
> 
> for KittenWolf29, who is a fantastic person and wanted vignettes of e&e growing up in LoAE <3
> 
> from [this prompt list](https://jaz-the-bard.tumblr.com/post/623811029312438272/found-family-prompts)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this first chapter is for starlightwalking with the prompt "touch starved"

"What are you suggesting we do now?" said Maglor, looking at Elwing's children. He had just sung them directly into sleep to stop their panic after their mother had fallen.

Maedhros barely heard him. "Look," he said, pointing out the window, "there! She has -- she has turned into a bird?" It was more of a question than a statement.

Maglor looked. "How did she -- that doesn't matter. She's heading roughly southwest; she'll come to Balar soon enough. We can't attack the High King, especially with what's left of us after today."

"We won't have to. She'll come for her children if we take them hostage, and if we demand the Silmaril as ransom, even Gil-Galad will want her to agree. They're his heirs, too."

Maglor nodded. "I'll take this one," he said, picking up one of the boys. "You get the other. They're very big for six years old, aren't they?"

"They're half-elven," said Maedhros as he picked up the other twin.

"That would explain it."

Both of them had ample experience taking care of children, elven and human alike, and so were able to efficiently climb down the stairs and go out into the street, even while carrying two sleeping boys.

"Stop the attack," Maedhros ordered to his nearby soldiers. "Elwing has escaped for the time being. We return to Amon Ereb as quickly as possible."

As preparations began for leaving, he gently cradled the young peredhel's head to his chest and wondered at the emotion he felt.

It had been so long since he had held a sleeping child. If he closed his eyes, focused on the little one's steady heartbeat and soft breathing, and ignored everything around him, it was almost like being back in Aman, babysitting yet another cousin or brother. The world fell away, leaving only warmth and softness.

No. That was false comfort. Maedhros opened his eyes, and reality came rushing back in.


	2. The Cilantro Incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is for KittenWolf29 who wanted vignettes, and sisters-of-the-moon who wanted the story behind the cilantro thing in Trying Not to Remember

It had been a week that Elrond and Elros had been in Amon Ereb, so their Nana would be here any day now. It hadn't taken them long to get there, and she definitely knew where they were by now, so in a few days she would come and get them back.

So all they had to do was be good and not make anyone displeased enough to hurt them, just until Nana was there. They had done it so far, and they could hold on a little longer.

Or so they thought, but when Maglor came to bring them to dinner, they found out otherwise.

The food tasted like soap.

Well, most of it did. The slices of baked apple with cinnamon were fine, but the main dish, rice with peppers and garlic and onion, was not. Neither were the vegetables they were expected to eat, carrots with ginger and herbs.

_ We can't eat this, _ said Elrond.  _ We should say something. _

Elros gave a tiny shake of his head.  _ Do you really think they will give us food tomorrow if we complain? They do not have to. _

_ Maybe they want us to complain about the food, so they can say we're ungrateful and stop pretending to be nice. _

_ That's probably it. Look at them,  _ said Elros.  _ They have no trouble with eating it at all. It's probably just ours that tastes bad. _

_ At least we know it isn't poison, because then Nana won't give them her necklace, _ said Elrond.  _ Well. Not poison that will kill us, anyway. _

_ Let’s just eat as much as we can. _

Maglor had a strange expression on his face. It looked something like concern. “Is the food all right? Do you not like it?” he said.

“No, we’ve just never had it before,” said Elrond. He tried to choke down as much as possible.

Elros did the same, but neither of them could eat more than half of their rice or carrots.

When they were done, Maedhros looked at them almost... disappointedly, if that was the word. “Is that all you’re going to eat?”

“We’re not hungry,” lied Elros.

“All right,” said Maedhros with a sigh. “Go with Maglor and wash up, then you can play in your room until it’s time for bed.”

Elrond and Elros nodded and did so.

* * *

Nana did not come for them.

Weeks passed with no word, and Elros and Elrond coped by trying to escape.

It never worked; they were lucky if they made it to the end of the hallway before getting caught. The one time they were allowed outside the fortress for a walk, they made a break for it, but Maglor and Maedhros scooped them up almost immediately and banned them from going out again.

So they rebelled in small ways if they thought they could get away with it, like not eating all their vegetables or not going to sleep when told to. Every time they feared that it would be the last straw, and their captors would decide to hurt them after all, but aside from a scolding and having to clean up the messes they made, they had not yet faced consequences.

Unless you counted the food.

Every once in a while, another dish would be served to them that tasted like soap. Elrond and Elros developed a protocol for the situation: eat everything else, alternating with small bites of the offending food, and have as much as they could stomach.

Normally it was infrequent enough that they still ate well, but on this occasion, two months after their kidnapping, it was several meals in a row that were inedible, and the twins were  _ so hungry. _

Elros went through his memories of the past few days, but couldn’t remember any instance of misbehavior that this could be punishment for; they hadn’t even tried to run since last week, and he had managed to stop Elrond from verbally antagonizing anyone in the past five days.

(Not for Elrond’s lack of trying, of course. He had decided that insulting the people who had killed everyone they knew was a good hobby, which he justified to himself as wanting them to stop pretending to be nice. If he could just get rid of the lie, just for a moment, he would know what lay behind it and behave accordingly.)

They were in their room after a brief excursion to the library, trying to focus on the new books to ignore their pangs of hunger. It didn’t work.

“We should say something,” said Elrond. “We can’t just go on like this; I’m so hungry. What do they think they will get out of this?”

"I don't know. Maybe they just want us to suffer, because they are frustrated that Nana has not come for us yet."

There was silence as Elrond thought for a moment.

"How long do you think it will take," he said hesitantly, "for them to give up, if they don't hear from Nana? And how much worse will it get in that time?"

"I don't know," said Elros. "But I'm so hungry I can't focus. Maybe we  _ should _ say something."

"And if they stop feeding us?"

"We can try and sneak into the kitchens," Elros said.

Elrond frowned. "That will take time and energy away from our actual escape."

"Maybe that's why they did this."

Elrond couldn't disagree with that. He nodded. "Okay. If we can't eat dinner, we'll say something."

* * *

They couldn't eat dinner.

Elrond took one bite of his chili and started crying, and Elros did the same. Their kidnappers stood up from their chairs and rushed over, murmuring soothing incomprehensibilities.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" said Maglor, a hand laid lightly on Elrond's shoulder in a gesture that probably wasn't actually meant to comfort him.

Elrond pushed the hand away. "We can't eat this," he said through his tears. "Please don't make us eat this!"

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to eat it," said Maedhros.

Elrond and Elros sobbed harder. Elros had been right; they would be eating this or nothing at all. Hardly a choice.

When their tears subsided a bit, Maedhros said, "Could you tell me what was wrong with the food? Why didn't you like it?"

"It tastes bad. Like soap," said Elros, and braced himself.

This was it. Their captors would tell them that if the food wasn't good enough for them, they wouldn't get any. Why had they thought this was a good idea?

But instead of harsh words, he was met with silence.

Elrond peeked and saw Maedhros and Maglor looking puzzled. Then Maglor's expression cleared.

"I think I know what the problem is," he said, and took some herbs from one of the herb baskets. Handing a leaf each to Elrond and Elros, he said, "Could you try this, please, and tell me honestly if it tastes good?"

The twins glanced at each other. This was a trick, right?

"I'll eat a piece, too, it's perfectly safe," said Maglor, and did so. "There will be no repercussions if you like it or don't."

Feeling marginally more secure about the whole situation, Elros gingerly put the leaf in his mouth and tried not to spit it out when it became clear that that herb was the cause of the inedible food.

Elrond did actually spit it out and cried, "How do you eat that? It's terrible!"

Elros's face went pale and he grabbed his brother's arm. No consequences for disliking the food was not the same as no consequences for rudeness.

But Maedhros only nodded. "I will make you something else, then. You must be hungry; I have been cooking with cilantro often lately." He rummaged through the pantry. "How about sandwiches?"

"That sounds fine," said Elros quickly.  _ Be agreeable, Elrond! _ he added.  _ This turned out much better than we expected. Don't make them change their minds! _

Maglor explained, "Some people can't eat that herb, cilantro, because it tastes like soap to them. To us it tastes fine, but we didn't know you don't like it. From now on we'll make sure you have something else to eat; you don't have to have cilantro."

Elrond and Elros launched themselves at him, crying again in relief rather than distress and fear. He awkwardly patted them on the back in an attempt at comfort.

The sandwiches were the best thing Elros and Elrond had ever eaten. They tasted like safety.


	3. Thunderstorm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for an anon on tumblr with the prompt "touch starved"

"What are you doing here?" Maedhros asked, as softly as possible. Thunder rumbled outside as the rain poured down.

Elrond and Elros stood before him, shaking. It had been three months since their kidnapping, and Elwing still had not come for them.

Elros said in a small voice, "The storm is loud. It's scary. What if monsters attack and we can't hear because of the thunder?"

"But you're scarier than the storm, and the monsters, and you could keep them away," said Elrond. "So can we stay here?"

Maedhros thought about this. "All right. But you have to sleep, or try to, or you won't feel well in the morning." It wasn't healthy for them to stay up all night.

The twins exchanged glances, clearly reluctant to leave themselves so vulnerable with him nearby.

( _ We shouldn't sleep. We'll be defenseless,  _ said Elrond.

Elros shook his head minutely.  _ He said he'd hurt us if we don't sleep. Anyway it's not as if we haven't been sleeping in the fortress for months already. _ )

"Okay," said Elrond. "We'll try and sleep."

Maedhros led them into his room. When they stood still he said, "Go ahead and get in bed. I'll sit in the chair and keep you safe from any monsters."

(Worrying. Better than sleeping on the floor, as they had expected, but worrying. Why was he subjecting himself to discomfort for them? It made no sense, and that was scary.)

They obediently got in bed and snuggled up to each other while Maedhros tucked them in. "Sleep well," he said.

An hour passed.

Elrond and Elros still couldn't sleep.

(It was too cold, and they were too scared to say anything, but it would go badly for them if they did not sleep. Asking for another blanket would be too much; Maedhros had been patient so far but they were already imposing on him. It just depended on which was worse, asking or not sleeping.)

The twins started sniffling quietly, in the way that meant they wanted to cry but didn't want to make noise.

Maedhros debated with himself. If he was the cause of their crying, going to comfort them would just make it worse, but he couldn't just leave them like this and pretend he didn't notice.

He went over to them, whispering comforting words. "Hey, it's alright. The storm can't hurt you here. What's wrong?"

"We're cold," said Elrond.

Maedhros felt like an idiot. Of course they were cold! He didn't like the heat and required few blankets, but obviously they needed more warmth.

"I will go get you more blankets," said Maedhros, making to leave, but a tiny hand shot out of the covers and grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't leave us alone," said Elros.

"Okay, I won't," Maedhros soothed. "What can I do instead that will keep you warm?"

The twins paused, then wriggled apart and patted the space between them.

...Children  _ did _ need regular physical contact to be healthy. Maedhros nodded and carefully climbed into the bed, and Elrond and Elros nestled themselves into each side of him at the next roll of thunder.

"Rest. I will keep you safe," he said.

(They couldn't trust that. How could they?

But somehow it was comforting to be there, held close and protected. Almost something like being home.

They fell asleep quickly after that.)

Maedhros could not sleep.

How long had it been since someone had touched him, on purpose and for such an extended time? He couldn't remember. Hugs were something that other people did.

And now there were two little bright spots of warmth snuggled up to him, fast asleep, in an incredible show of trust towards the person who had destroyed their home and stolen them.

There were tears in his eyes. When had he started crying?

How was this the happiest, the most comfortable, that he had been in centuries?


	4. Injury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is for 8lottie8 aka lottiefairchildbranwell on tumblr w the prompt "crying into shoulder/chest"

This was the worst day of Elrond's life.

Yes, including the day four months ago when he had lost his parents and his home and been kidnapped for ransom, and including every day since in which no one came for him and Elros.

Because Elros had just broken his leg, and that was going to have consequences.

Obviously no one was going to heal Elros; little injuries were one thing but neither of them were valuable enough to expend  _ that _ much effort on. If he was lucky he'd get the bone set into a position it could heal in.

More likely, the injury would be left alone to heal wrong, ensuring that Elros could never even get close to escaping again (and Elrond could never leave without him). If they were unlucky, though...

There was hardly a reason for their captors to bother healing Elros. It was a waste of resources, and, simply put, they only needed one hostage at all, let alone an intact one.

Elrond swallowed. He was going to watch his twin die.

He stood numbly as the kidnappers came running in response to Elros's tears.

Maybe -- maybe he could bargain with them, get them to heal Elros?  _ No, _ he thought.  _ They only want one thing, that's why we're here, and I don't have it. _

He could promise to be good. No more rude comments, no more escape attempts, no more complaining about eating his vegetables. Maybe if he was less of a problem to the people who held his and his twin's lives in their hands, they wouldn't mind the inconvenience of healing Elros so much.

Elrond barely even noticed that Maglor had picked him up and leaned him against his chest, or that Maedhros had ever-so-carefully lifted Elros to bring them to the healer.

He only realized they had gone somewhere when Maglor's voice said, "Are you okay to be set down? I think your brother will want you with him for this."

Elrond squeezed his eyes shut, a few tears escaping. He wasn't ready to say goodbye. They weren't even going to give him a chance to speak, to try and change their minds, before making him entirely alone in the world.

Or -- no. It would make more sense now to kill  _ Elrond, _ who was still at least theoretically capable of running away. After all, Elros could no longer cause them any trouble.

Elrond began to sob into Maglor's chest. Until now he had naïvely hoped that they would both survive this, that they could hold on and not anger anyone until their mother came for them, but she must not know where they had been taken to, and one of them was going to die today and no one would even find out until Mother came to get them back and only found one--

Maglor was murmuring softly into his hair. It was almost soothing. "Hush, Elrond. He will be alright. But we need to set his leg, and it will be less unpleasant if you are with him."

Elrond hiccuped, but managed to stutter out, "You are going to set his leg?"

"The healer is, yes. Were you hurt at all?"

"No. Are you going to break my leg, too, so I can't run away either?"

Maglor froze, and Elrond could hear a sharp intake of breath from Maedhros.

Maedhros said, "We are not. We will heal Elros's leg, and it will likely be weak for a few days afterwards, but we do not want either of you to be hurt. No more than what we have already inflicted by separating you from your family."

"For the time being, we are your guardians, and we will take care of you," said Maglor firmly. "Now I'm going to sit you down over here next to Elros, and I need you both to be very brave while the healer does her work, okay?"


	5. Outing (take II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for arofili with the prompt "hand holding"
> 
> flower symbolism:  
> -Stock: happy life, affection  
> -Yellow Tulip: hope, sunshine

Maedhros felt a tiny tap on his leg. He looked down to see Elros and Elrond giving him puppy-dog eyes.

"Can we please go outside the fortress today?" Elrond asked in a small voice. "You said we could maybe eventually be allowed to go outside again after last time, and we've been good."

Maedhros gave them both a scrutinizing look. "Is this another escape attempt?"

"No, it's just sunny today," said Elros. "And we wouldn't be that obvious."

"It didn't work last time anyway," said Elrond with a nod.

...This was  _ probably _ a trick to make him let his guard down, but even if not, it meant they were learning from past failures. That was an important part of growing up, right? Learning from mistakes and getting plenty of intellectual stimulation?

At least the escape attempts had decreased in frequency after the twins were placed in lessons with the Mannish children and had something to occupy their time and energy.

"Okay," he said slowly, kneeling down to be at their level. "We can go on a hike this afternoon, but only if you eat all your vegetables at lunch and you follow the rules for the outing. Does that sound fair?"

The twins nodded excitedly.

"Now let's go find Maglor and tell him the plan."

* * *

That afternoon, after Elros and Elrond had dutifully eaten all of their vegetables, they set off on their little hike.

The plan, for Maedhros and Maglor, was simple: take a reasonably flat and quaint little road, point out some nice flowers, never let either twin out of their sight for an instant, and return safely. Surrounding their group, unseen, would be a number of guards in case any creatures of the Enemy attacked.

"Here are the rules," said Maglor. "First, you must be holding the hand of one of us at all times; Maedhros's right arm counts as a hand for this purpose. Second, obviously, no escape or attempting to do so. Third, if you want to touch something, ask, because we don't want you getting hurt. And last, we are allowed to veto the things you want to bring back."

The twins nodded solemnly and took hands, Elros with Maedhros and Elrond with Maglor.

As Elros had said, it was pleasantly sunny out, the days of early spring not yet hot. Elros quickly found some flowers he wanted to take with him.

Maedhros looked at the flowers and said, "These are called stock flowers. You can pick them and bring them back, but don't eat them, it's not safe."

Elros cheerfully picked a few flowers and held them close. "Can we put them in our room when we get back?"

"Of course. I'll find a bowl for them," said Maedhros. Elros likely wasn't thinking quite so far ahead, but Maedhros would need to find some of the near-unbreakable glassware that Curufin had invented; the children should not be able to get their hands on sharp shards, whether because they could hurt themselves or because the shards could be used as weapons.

"Can I pick one or two of those tulips?" said Elrond a few minutes later.

Maglor looked to where he was pointing. "Sure. You can bring them back, too, and put them in your room if you like."

"Aren't you going to tell me not to eat them?"

Maglor smiled. "No, the petals are edible. I would advise you against eating the leaves and stems, though, and it might be best to wash the petals before putting them in your mouth."

The walk was slow and lasted less than an hour, as Elrond and Elros were still quite small, but the twins seemed very pleased with their little hike and their new flowers. They didn't even complain when told they would have to wash up upon returning.

And they held hands the entire way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "don't forget to give your hostages environmental enrichment" -maedhros, probably


	6. Foresight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for fingonsradharp with the prompt of "nightmares"!
> 
> incorporating my headcanon of elros having really good future vision

Maglor went by the twins' room to check on them. Their night vision was not as good as that of elves, but they had tried to escape at night in the past.

But instead of sleeping sounds, or suspicious silence, tonight he heard crying. Maglor slowly pushed open the door.

Elrond had migrated from his bed to Elros's (which was not uncommon), and appeared to be comforting his crying twin.

He made a tiny bit of noise to alert them to his presence, and they both startled and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Maglor asked softly.

"Elros saw the future in his dreams again," Elrond whispered. "And it was bad."

Maglor edged closer, trying to appear nonthreatening. "Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes that helps, with dreams."

Elros sniffled and nodded. The twins held each other tightly as he began his prophecy.

"Beleriand will drown," he said. "All of it, except for a few places that will be islands. All of this is going to be gone, and the Enemy's realm too."

Maglor tried not to let his shock show on his face. That was ill news indeed, though the destruction of Angband was a comfort. What could cause such a thing? Ulmo had intervened in the past, and yet...

Elros continued, "There will be a new home for Men, and it will sink, too. And something else will be given to the sea, something very, very important, but I couldn't see what. The sea, the sky, and the earth." He stopped.

"That does sound distressing," said Maglor. "I would cry, too, if I had that dream."

"There was more," said Elrond, nudging Elros.

"Two very important things will fall into the fires of the earth, with the people who wanted them. Another will be buried alongside the one who coveted it. And I -- I saw my own death."

But he was only six! Why was he seeing such a thing?

"I will die of old age, and Elrond will not, and you will be there when I die," said Elros, and began crying anew. "That's when I woke up."

Maglor fought not to react to such a grim pronouncement.

(Was he really going to keep Elros hostage for the rest of his life? And what would befall Elrond, that he would die before that?)

"I am so sorry you had to see those things. It sounds very troubling," said Maglor.

Elros nodded tearfully.

"You were very brave for getting through that. You as well, Elrond, hearing them must have been upsetting. Thank you for talking to me about it. Do you feel any better now?"

"A little."

Maglor gave a tentative smile. "That's good. How about we go get a nice calming glass of water from the kitchen?"

Elrond and Elros hopped out of bed and followed.


	7. Sibling Rivalry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no jailbird update today, sorry! it'll be here tomorrow, i'm having trouble maintaining a decent number of buffer chapters due to school oof
> 
> for arofili w the prompt "sibling rivalry"

"You do realize you don't know how to bake, right?" said Maedhros, raising an eyebrow.

Maglor glared. "I know that. But it's their birthday, and they need something nice, like a birthday cake. That's what normal guardians would do."

"Oh, for goodness's sake. I'll bake this; I think it can be salvaged. But you get that this situation is hardly normal, right? They aren't going to suddenly stop fearing us because we made them something nice."

"We have no idea how long they'll be here! We thought it'd be a week at most before their mother came to get them, and it's been ten months." Maglor sighed. "They need to know we care about them, that we'll care for them while they're with us."

Maedhros, engrossed in fixing Maglor's culinary mistakes, did not reply.

Maglor grinned and added, "Anyway, they like me better than you. You're too frightening, but they ask me to sing them to sleep."

"You mean Elrond does, and Elros ignores you while trying to surreptitiously read a book under the covers when he's supposed to be sleeping," Maedhros retorted, the beginnings of a smile spreading across his face. "They ask me to comfort them when there's a storm. Clearly they like me better."

"You can think so if you wish, but who was first to see the pretty bug they found last week? Me."

Maedhros huffed. "You're forgetting that I'm the better storyteller. And cook," he said, putting the miraculously fixed cake batter in to bake.

"Actually, I've been told that I'm very good at playing chefs with the toy food, and that vastly outweighs any actual cooking ability," said Maglor.

"You've got me there." Maedhros heaved a dramatic sigh. "Oh, woe is me, the boys don't like me best, I shall simply shrivel and die for lack of attention!" he cried, flinging his hand to his forehead in a swoon.

"Stop being all dramatic, that's my job."

"Fine. Anyway, help me make icing, I'm leaving the decoration to you." He waved his stump in the air as if to highlight his inability to pipe frosting. "Strawberry cake was a good choice, though. They really do eat through strawberries at an alarming rate."


	8. Cultural Differences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for philosophizes!!! ily

"I have a question," said Elros. "What's that language you're always singing to us in?"

Maglor's fingers paused upon his harp. "It's called Quenya, the language we spoke at home in Aman. Your Ada speaks it, and so do most of his people, the elves of Gondolin."

"That's what Quenya is? Nana always said not to speak it. I thought it was just another name for bad words."

Maglor almost choked.  _ Thingol's great-granddaughter, _ he reminded himself. "No, it's not. But here in Beleriand we speak Sindarin, the language of your Nana's people."

"Wait, I think I've heard that language before. Doesn't King Gil-Galad speak it?" said Elrond. "Some of the words seem familiar."

"But he pronounces them really differently," argued Elros.

"You're both right. He speaks a different kind of Quenya, but it's still understandable," said Maglor.

"Ohhh," said Elrond, nodding in understanding.

Elros bounced in place a little. "Can you teach us?" he asked with wide, pleading eyes.

"I can't."

Elros's face fell.

"But I think if you ask him very nicely, Maedhros would be pleased to teach you every language he knows," Maglor finished with a smile.

"But he's scary," Elrond protested. "We can't do that."

"I can come with you," he offered. "I know he loves nothing more than teaching these things to children and elflings. And maybe he won't seem so scary if you spend a little more time with him."

Elros's curiosity and caution warred within him, but the desire to learn won out.

"Okay. Can we go ask him right now?"

"Of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm updating jailbird and nightmare sequence right after this, so stay tuned!


	9. Declaration of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For arofili!
> 
> Short bit of fluff to make up for Nightmare Sequence lol

It was late at night, a good portion of the way into the twins' third year as hostages (even though nobody actually believed they were going to be ransomed anymore), and Maglor had just finished singing a lullaby to Elrond and Elros.

He and Maedhros tucked the twins into bed with murmured wishes of sweet dreams.

To Maglor's surprise, a very sleepy Elrond threw his arms around him and said, "G'night. I love you."

Across the room, Elros did the same to Maedhros.

"We -- we love you too," said Maglor, voice cracking with the weight of sudden emotion. "Sleep well."

After leaving the room and closing the door, he leaned heavily against the wall. "Did you hear that, Maedhros? I wasn't imagining it, was I?"

"No," said Maedhros shakily. "I heard too." He went silent for a few seconds. "I'm not sure how to feel about this."

"Neither do I."

There was silence.

"We probably ought to feel guilty, I think. But if it means they're not unhappy here, then it might even be a good thing," said Maglor. "And I cannot deny that I want them to like me; I care about them a great deal."

"If nothing else, it proves our parental affection for them is not unwelcome." Maedhros clasped his brother's hand. "Now come on. You need sleep, too."


	10. Blanket Fort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for eonwe-s on tumblr!

"Come on, little stars, it's raining this afternoon, so you can't play outside. But that means you can spend time with all your friends in the big playroom until dinner," said Maglor.

Elrond and Elros, now eight and a half years old, pouted.

"But we were going to build a fort out of the big blocks and play city," said Elrond, who was always eager to build child-sized towns in the courtyard.

Elros said, "And it was my turn to be king of the city, too!"

"When it's dry again, you can still have your turn."

Elros glowered. "It's going to rain every day for the rest of this week," he said.

Maglor knew to trust him on that; both twins had the gift of foresight, but Elros had more frequent visions and could sometimes foretell just because he wanted to (hence the sudden weather prediction) rather than only seeing what Fate deemed necessary.

"You can build a little city with the interlocking blocks," he suggested.

"It's not the same!" said Elrond. "And we can't build the fort indoors."

Maglor had an idea. "I think I have a way for you to build a fort indoors, but it'll be a little different. Want to try that?"

"Okay," said Elros sullenly.

"Great!" Maglor clapped his hands. "Now, I need you two to gather up lots of blankets and pillows, and come to the playroom. I'll meet you there."

The twins confusedly did so. When they arrived, Maglor had also grabbed a number of sheets and blankets and pillows.

To the room he announced, "Since you all didn't get to build your outdoor fort today, we're going to make a blanket fort."

A lot of the kids got very excited and started moving chairs and such around.

"What's a blanket fort?" asked Elrond.

"We're going to drape lots of blankets between chairs and other furniture, creating a structure," said Maglor. "Then you can go in and fill it with pillows and play in there."

"Can I be king of it today? It's still my turn to be king," said Elros.

"I think that can be arranged."

It turned out to be the best and biggest blanket fort that Amon Ereb had ever seen, and Elros had a fantastic time governing it for the day.

"Can we do this again tomorrow?" said Elrond at the end of the day. He loved any activity where he got to build things.

"If it rains again, and everyone else agrees, I don't see why not," said Maglor.


	11. Cuddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> full disclosure i spite-wrote this after seeing some awful anti-kidnap dads posts on tumblr

Elros and Elrond were grumpy today, and Maglor had no idea why. It didn't seem like anything was seriously wrong, though. Maybe they were just in a bad mood?

Maedhros had been away for a couple of days, and had been late arriving last night, only coming back after the children had gone to bed. Perhaps they were upset because he hadn't been there in time to read them a story as he had promised. They did seem to be grumpier around him than Maglor.

Maybe after they had tired themselves out playing, he could ask what was wrong and actually get an answer.

Looking over at them, he amended the thought. After they had tired themselves out  _ warping the laws of nature, _ he could ask.

Elrond was trying to make the wings he grew more anatomically accurate, because a week ago Maedhros had handed him a book and told him that good craftsmanship was more efficient than overwriting reality in the long run.

As his wings, too, changed (for they had not yet found the trick to shifting separately), Elros tried to grow a flower from the ground with force of will. Plants sprung up where they danced, as was said to be true for Lúthien, but Elros was determined to be able to do it on purpose and know how it worked.

The human children of the fortress were also playing outside, a few of them asking to touch the twins' wings or suggesting flowers for Elros to make. 

Elros eventually got a tiny starflower to bloom in the grass, and his face broke out in a wide grin as he ran over to Maglor to show him.

"That is incredible, Elros," he said, tucking the flower behind Elros's ear. "I am so proud of you! I can tell you put a lot of work into it."

Elros opened his arms for a hug. Maglor obliged, always happy to shower the boys in affection, and gave him a kiss on the head.

From the other side of the courtyard, Elrond called, "I think I have it! Watch this!" He jumped up slightly and flapped his wings, slowly beginning to rise up.

Maglor shaded his eyes with a hand to watch. "You're doing great! Be careful not to go too high up!"

It didn't take Elrond long to tire out. After descending, to applause from onlookers, he made his wings disappear and went to join his brother in the hug.

"Why am I so tired?" he said, yawning. "Having the bones and muscles right was supposed to make it easy."

"I think you need to develop those muscles you made, to make them stronger. And don't forget, you did a lot of work on them before you started flying," said Maglor soothingly, rubbing Elrond's back.

Elrond hummed.

Maedhros, a little while later, came looking to ask the children to wash up and help him cook dinner (they were very enthusiastic little chefs), but when he found them he could hardly bear to wake them. Elrond and Elros had dozed off in the shade, being cuddled by a likewise drowsy Maglor. It was the sweetest thing he had ever seen.

He sat down next to them, intending to join the hug, but Elrond sleepily blinked his eyes open, and upon seeing Maedhros, glared. Elros woke, too, and Maglor snapped back to awareness.

"What's wrong?" Maglor asked, not yet having a handle on the situation.

"We're mad at him," said Elrond, back to being grumpy as he had been earlier.

Maedhros, who had been back for less than a day, could not explain that. "Why?"

Elros piped up. "You didn't give us a goodnight kiss when you got back, even though you said you would."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you up." Maedhros knew better than to say that he hadn't thought they would notice, having been asleep. He had, of course, gone to check on them before going to bed himself.

Elrond glared still.

"I will remember for next time?" Maedhros offered.

Elrond slowly nodded. "Okay."

"But you have to give us lots of cuddles to make up for it," said Elros. "Whenever we want for a week."

Maedhros smiled at them and said, "It's a deal. But please do not set my paperwork on fire with your minds when you want attention this time."

They had the good grace to look at least a little ashamed about that incident, but said nothing, only reached out their arms in a demand for hugs.

Maglor stood and moved to the far side so that Elros and Elrond could be in the middle. Maedhros sat down opposite, and they engulfed the children in a great big hug.

Elrond and Elros felt warm and safe, snuggling into each other and their guardians. An hour passed as the four of them cuddled, oblivious to the rest of the world, knowing only affection and comfort.

And when they rose to go in for dinner, the area where they had lain was covered in flowers.


	12. Gil-Estel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for enter-witty-remark

"What is that star?" asked Elrond, pointing.

Maedhros looked up to name whatever constellation was first to appear in the early evening sky, and saw a single bright star that had not been there the night before.

He furrowed his brow. "That star was not there last night. I'm afraid I have no name for it." The light of it was -- no. That was impossible, of course.

"Would you like to name it?" said Maglor.

Elros tilted his head up to look, the little sparks of Treelight in his eyes glittering as if in reflection of the innumerable stars. "It shall be called Gil-Estel," he prophesied. "It will be a symbol of hope for Men and elves alike, and dwarves too, and creatures that yet do not exist."

That was a lot. Maedhros cleared his throat and said, "That is a very nice name, Elros. Tomorrow night we can get the telescope out, but it's getting late. You two wanted a story tonight, right?"

Elrond, knowing it was his turn to pick the bedtime story, jumped out of Maedhros's lap and ran for the library. For that night, the star was forgotten.

The next evening, Maglor set up the telescope and pointed it at where the star appeared, again beginning its course in the sky just as twilight deepened.

The children arrived soon, after having finished reluctantly cleaning up their room after having set some of it on fire during an argument.

Elros bounded up the stairs to the terrace, nearly vibrating with excitement, because since he had not started the fight he would get to look into the telescope first.

Humming happily in tones inaudible to elves, Elros focused the lenses.

And then he stopped.

"Elrond," he said shakily, "you need to look at this."

Elrond looked, too, and a gasp escaped him. Countless eyes appeared on the twins and began to weep, the edges of their forms beginning to fray and slip into aether as they did when the boys were very upset.

Maglor rushed over to hug them, careful not to touch any of the eyes (it was apparently very uncomfortable), and gestured to Maedhros, indicating that he should look in the telescope.

Maedhros looked. Instead of just a star, the thing Elros had named "Gil-Estel" was in fact a ship, with Eärendil at the helm and wearing the Silmaril.

Elwing must have flown to him, and they must have gone to Aman. But why? Their sons were still here, and they could easily have gotten them back if they had just handed over the Silmaril. Elrond and Elros might be happy now, but they had been miserable for the first year especially.

That didn't matter right now; the children were crying. Maedhros and Maglor switched places.

"They're not coming back for us," Elrond wailed, clinging to Maedhros's shirt. "They're never coming back for us, and we'll never see them again!"

Maedhros couldn't actually dispute that with his current knowledge. "I'm sorry, dear ones. Go ahead and cry." Time to say something comforting that probably wouldn't be disproven. "I'm sure he's looking down and watching over you, because he loves you and wants to know you're safe. I would do the same."

Maglor, visibly shaken, returned from the telescope to enfold Elros and Elrond in another hug, heedless of the tears beginning to soak into every inch of his robes.

Elros, muffled by Maglor's shoulder, sobbed, "They will never come back for us, I saw it!" He raised his head, and all the crying eyes on his face met Maglor's two, his expression heartbreakingly sad. "Why don't Ada and Nana love us?"

"They do love you," said Maglor firmly. "I am certain this is all just a big misunderstanding. Maybe you will go to them, and they will not have to come back," he suggested, knowing how specific Elros's visions could be.

"But in the meantime, we will make sure you are as safe and happy as possible," finished Maedhros.

"We love you very much," said Maglor.

Elrond sniffled, but let go of Maedhros's shirt, and his edges solidified.

Maedhros gave a weak smile. "Let's go get you two some tissues and nice dry pajamas. Water, too; crying with all those eyes dehydrates you. We can talk about what to do next later."


	13. Familial Terms

The first time it happened was at lunch, the four of them sitting together around a small table eating the pasta that Maedhros had cooked.

"Could you please pass the salt?" asked Elros, who was clearly reading a book under the table just as he had been told not to.

Maglor handed it to him.

Elros, clearly wrapped up in his book, replied absentmindedly, "Thanks, Ada."

An awkward silence descended upon the table as Elros realized what he had just said.

"I mean -- thank you." Elros didn't even use the salt, instead eating his food as quickly as possible and excusing himself from the room. Elrond did the same.

* * *

"You're going to be our parents now, right?" Elrond asked.

Maedhros nodded. "That's the idea, unless you change your mind. That's okay too."

"What he means is, what are we supposed to call you?" said Elros. "We can't go around calling you both Ada; it'd get confusing, and anyway we already have someone we call Ada even if he's not here."

"You could continue to call us by our names," Maglor suggested.

The twins made identical faces of disgust at the idea.

"Absolutely not," said Elrond. "Even you two call us by nicknames constantly, and I know you can tell us apart so it's not because of that."

"You could call one of us 'Adar,' I suppose," said Maedhros, though he would rather not be referred to in a formal fashion.

He was relieved when Elrond dismissed the idea.

"Too formal," said Elrond. "What are the words in Quenya again?"

"Atar, atya, and atto," said Elros. "Wait, that's perfect! Maedhros can be atya and Maglor can be atto."

"That _ is  _ perfect!"

"Do we get any say in this?"

"No."


	14. Adoption

“So remind me again how this works?” said Elrond, nervously wringing his hands.

Maedhros sat down beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Breathe. There is nothing to be worried about. The important decisions have already been made; this is... a formality. But special all the same.”

Elrond took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“There you go. Now, according to the tradition, we are going to give you two the gifts we made for you, and then some family heirlooms. You really just have to stand there and accept them. Then we will promise to always love and protect and take care of you.” Maedhros made a face. “Which I  _ may _ have vowed a little earlier than intended, but saying it again is hardly a trial.”

Elrond laughed a little at the memory -- Maedhros had admitted to adopting them on impulse while not in possession of all his memories, and Maglor had been upset at being left out.

“Exactly. Then we will all initiate ósanwe and create the fëa bonds.”

“I thought you did that already,” said Elros, who had just entered the room. “They’re almost ready, by the way.”

Maglor, coming with him, said, “We did, but not the ones that connect you to our House. After that, we’ll give you your extra names that come with the adoption.”

Everyone groaned.

“You like  _ most _ of the names, you really just have a problem with Cantëafinwë. You never even have to use it,” said Maglor, unimpressed.

“We had better go get this adoption started, shouldn’t we?” said Maedhros. “It will be fine, Elrond. After the naming we can go eat a big dinner and some dessert to celebrate.”

“Okay.” Elrond stood, and they walked into the great hall where the people of the fortress waited.

The handmade gifts were clearly made with love in every stitch, every line; each twin received a set of maps of both Aman and Beleriand and a warm quilt that felt like the essence of comfort. And the heirlooms, a pair of silver circlets with the eight-pointed star on them, that had long ago been made by Fëanor himself, fit perfectly.

Maedhros and Maglor both fought to keep their voices from cracking as they recited the only oaths they had made since the one that had ruined everything, and openly wept throughout the rest of the ceremony. Elros and Elrond smiled the entire time.

And soon enough, the names had been given, and Maedhros and Maglor lifted up their children to a resounding cheer for the newest additions to the family.


	15. Hostage Situation 2.0

Maglor wanted to make sure it was clear that no one had intended to bring the twins into danger. It was supposed to be a routine picnic with the pair of eleven-year-olds, a simple and well-guarded outing. They had not expected an ambush.

The attackers were clearly Men in the service of Morgoth: they were certainly not elves or dwarves, and any Men allied with elves would have either not attacked at all or simply taken the children back to the High King.

But these people showed up out of nowhere and began attacking the accompanying soldiers, not trying to go for anyone in particular.

It became clear soon enough that the Fëanorians were winning easily, so the unfamiliar Men decided they needed a way to retreat safely. Taking advantage of a momentary loosening of the guard around Elrond and Elros, they grabbed the children.

The twins had no time to react before they had their arms pinned and blades held to their throats. They both went very, very still.

(This was, unfortunately, not the first time they had been held at knifepoint, but the last time it had been for only about ten seconds, and more of a vague threat than an actual danger considering that there wasn’t really anyone around to scare with it. In fact it had been a rather belated reaction; Elwing had already been out the window.)

Maglor froze.

The apparent leader of the Men yelled, “Drop your weapons! We will leave, but do not attack us, or these children die!”

Most of the elves, and the Men on their side, put down their swords and bows slowly, eyes fixed on Elros and Elrond, who were crying terrified tears but determinedly not moving.

The Men holding them didn’t even notice Maedhros coming up from behind.

After the battle was over, Maglor and Maedhros both hugged the twins tightly.

"We were so worried!" Maglor cried. "You could've gotten hurt!"

"It's fine, but I wouldn't say it was the best being-held-at knifepoint experience I've ever had," Elrond muttered, causing Maglor to hug him all the tighter.

Elros said, "I'm sure if you gave them a few minutes to get to know us, they would've adopted us, too."

Maedhros gave a watery laugh. "You can't rely on the fact that you're wonderful perfect children to get you out of every situation."

"It sure worked on you, though!" Elrond said.


	16. Oath

Elrond had been learning Quenya for a while now, and was pretty sure he could read it without too much trouble. It had been slow going, of course; he had a lot of other things to learn at the same time, and learning a completely new language that was essentially illegal to speak was low on the list of priorities.

But by now, at eleven years old, he was able to speak it comprehensibly, but according to Maedhros needed more practice reading.

So Elrond went to the library in search of something to practice with.

_ No, no, boring, no thank you, that’s just a translation of something I’ve already read, no... _ he wandered the aisles in search of a text worth reading.

When he found some sort of old scroll, he decided it was perfect. The text inside was fairly short and looked like a poem.

He began reading the words out loud, slowly and carefully.

“Be he foe or friend...”

* * *

Maedhros, who was at the time returning from a trade meeting with a nearby settlement, stopped breathing. He looked over at Maglor, who had frozen as well.

Something was very, very wrong.

Not knowing where they were going, but trusting in their feet to guide them, they ran through the fortress, not pausing even for Elros but only beckoning him to come along.

As they neared the library, they heard Elrond's familiar voice slowly reading out something all too familiar.

"...finding keepeth or afar casteth..."

"Stop!" cried Maedhros, heart in his throat.

Elrond turned in surprise. "You're back! I was practicing my Quenya reading," he said with a smile, gesturing with the scroll.

His parents stood before him in shock.

Maglor was the first to drop to his knees and hug Elrond, crying. Elros joined in, though he didn't know what this was all about.

Maedhros took the scroll and handed it to Erestor, who had followed, murmuring, "Burn this. And every copy, and anything else with the words. This must not happen again." Then he, too, joined the hug.

Elrond wriggled, surrounded by crying parents and a confused brother all trapping him in an embrace. "Why are you so worked up? I was just studying."

"That was -- that was not something that should be read aloud," said Maglor. "You remember what we told you about that Oath we swore? That was its text."

"I doubt it would count if you did not intend to swear it, but saying the words is too much of a risk," said Maedhros. "I would not see you, either of you, be bound to such a cruel vow."


	17. Chaotic Shapeshifting

It wasn't that Maedhros and Maglor regretted adopting the twins, far from it. It was just that part-Maia children could be a little strange.

You know, shapeshifting and the like.

They had come up with a few ground rules quickly enough, such as "no turning into an eldritch monstrosity without warning," but the real issue was that the twins were not yet so in control of their abilities as to be able to shift independently of each other. If one changed, they both changed.

It also wasn't that they regretted giving the boys more names. Adoption traditionally involved the giving of an epessë to the child or children involved.

Part of the issue here was that of a family statute that required any descendants of Fëanor to have a Finwë-name, and Maedhros's eldest child (and so forth) had to be named for their generation of descent from Finwë.

This made both twins Cantëafinwë, as no one knew who was older, and it was a terrible name that no one in Arda actually wanted them to have, so Maglor had given them the shared name of Elenyafinwë, which wasn't a very good name either but still significantly better.

Since Maedhros and Maglor knew both of those names were bad, and that the twins deserved unique names, they had also named Elrond Aþelairë and Elros Almatáru, or Athalaer and Altaur in Sindarin.

The real problem was that the twins tended to full-name each other.

Somewhere in the fortress a door slammed open. "Elrond Cantëafinwë Aþelairë Elenyafinwë son of far too many people for me to list,  _ what did you do to my hair?! _ "

"I grew it out a bit, calm down!" came the answering yell. "I needed it longer for a new hairstyle I'm trying!"

"You  _ know _ I hate having long hair! Get rid of it!"

"Cut your hair, it's not that hard! And consider it revenge for giving us both sharp teeth yesterday, it took ages for my lip to stop bleeding!"

"Fine!"

There was a pause.

Then: " _ Elros Cantëafinwë Almatáru Elenyafinwë why are my ears rounded?! _ I hate having human ears and -- hey I was  _ using _ those extra eyes, put them back!"

"I will shapeshift us  _ both _ into not having a mouth if you're going to be rude!"

Maedhros sipped his coffee. "Maybe we should institute a rule of 'no shapeshifting before at least warning your twin.'"

"Couldn't hurt," said Maglor.


	18. Coparenting

"I talked to Erestor today," said Maglor. "He's made some sort of graph of the boys' mental and physical growth to calculate what their equivalent elven or human age would be."

Maedhros raised an eyebrow. "And what was the verdict?"

"About what you would expect. Slower than Men, but not by all that much, and significantly faster than elves." Maglor paused. "I bring it up because they've fallen a bit out of step with the Mannish children their age, since they grow slower."

"Can they make friends with the slightly younger children?" Maedhros asked, not liking the idea of his and Maglor's sons not being happy.

"They've already started. I just -- I don't want them to feel out of place. There aren't any others like them, and I worry that they feel they don't fit."

Maedhros thought for a moment. Then he said, "They are well-loved, at least, and they have each other. There is no place I know of where they could be with peers, among other peredhil. I only hope they can find community and friendship still."

There were a few brief moments of blessed silence before it was broken by loud footsteps and yelling.

"Atya! Atto! Elrond shapeshifted us into having wings again and I lost my balance and you  _ said _ he wasn't allowed to do that without warning--"

Maglor and Maedhros gave each other rueful smiles. Back to parenting.


	19. Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower meanings:  
> Poppy: rest (ca poppy obvs)  
> White carnation: innocence  
> White clover: promises  
> Daisy: cheer  
> White heather: protection  
> Phlox: harmony (bright purple flower)  
> Zephyr lily: i must atone for my sins  
> Starflower (star of bethlehem): atonement  
> Lesser celandine: joys to come

Maedhros sighed. "Elrond, come over here," he called. "You've gotten grass in your hair and the braids are coming out. Let me brush it."

Elrond, who was twelve years old and had thought this picnic was going to be more running around and less sitting and eating, yelled back from where he was playing, "It'll just get messy again! What's the point?" and returned to picking flowers.

Maglor shook his head amusedly. Time to bring out an incentive that never failed. "You can braid your atya's hair and put flowers in it," he called.

"I don't recall agreeing to this--"

"Hush."

Elrond narrowed his eyes, trying to decide if the chance was worth having his own hair braided. Eventually he replied, "Okay, but I need Elros's help to find the right flowers first."

Elros shoved the rest of the flatbread he was eating into his mouth and ran off to join his twin.

Elrond pointed out each of the flowers he had chosen so far. "I found some daisies and white heather that might look nice, and these orange poppies that will look perfect with his hair."

"Do you think atto will let us braid his hair too? There's purple phlox, and he likes purple. Also pink zephyr lilies."

Elrond hummed. "I don't see why not. Come on and help me pick them."

They returned with arms full of flowers and hair messier than ever, met with fond exasperation and hair combs.

"No, we get to braid your hair first," said Elros.

Maedhros and Maglor obediently began undoing their braids while the twins sorted out all the flowers they had picked.

Elrond picked up a comb and started on Maedhros's hair. It was soft and smooth and, due to having been braided, hardly tangled at all. Elrond partitioned the hair and started weaving in the orange poppies and white carnations. As the braids slowly and clumsily took shape, he added in the white clover and heather, and tucked one last poppy behind his ear.

"Perfect!" he declared. "You can braid my hair now."

Maedhros turned around and began running his fingers through Elrond's hair to remove the twigs and blades of grass.

Elros, meanwhile, started his work of art with a crown of the purple phlox, then braided in daisies and white clover and just a few white poppies. Maglor's hair was straighter, and it was difficult to get the flowers to stay, but eventually he managed it, and sat down to have his own hair braided, receiving a kiss on the top of his head.

Maedhros reached for the flowers, intending to weave some white clover into Elrond's hair, but the twins had left them with only starflowers, zephyr lilies, and lesser celandines.

He smiled. Starflowers for his little stars.

Maglor hummed quietly as he worked, Elros dozing off from the soothingness of the music and his hair being slowly combed and arranged. He covered the sleeping child's head in starflowers, with a few celandines for variety.

Maedhros tucked a zephyr lily behind a likewise sleepy Elrond's ear and handed one to Maglor to do the same.

(Maedhros and Maglor wore the messy braids with pride until all the flowers fell out.)


	20. Argument

"I don't want you going to battle yet. You're too young," said Maedhros firmly.

"We grow faster than elves do!" Elros cried. "I don't see why you're so dead-set on this when some of the Men our age are allowed to at least stand lookout!"

"You grow slower than Men. You two are nineteen, and that is not old enough. When you reach a quarter century, I will reassess."

"That's absurd," said Elrond. "That's six years from now!"

"That is my final word on the matter," said Maedhros.

Elros said, "You can't control us like this! You're not our real father!"

Time stopped.

Maedhros's expression went cold, and a tense silence hung over the room.

Then Maedhros stood, and spoke in a voice so calm and controlled that it had to be an act. "If that is how you feel, I cannot blame you," he said. "But it does not change my answer. I am still responsible for your well-being."

He left the room without a further word.

"...I think we may have messed up," said Elrond.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave comments and kudos if you liked it, and check out my other works!
> 
> and you can prompt me on tumblr @jaz-the-bard!
> 
> prompt list is [here](https://jaz-the-bard.tumblr.com/post/623811029312438272/found-family-prompts)
> 
> In light of recent events: I do not consent to my own original ideas that appear in my fics being used without permission or without credit. If you are able to pick up ideas from my fic then you are certainly able to ask me for permission, and if you are going to publish, credit is REQUIRED.
> 
> This includes names such as elenyafinwë, aþelairë, and almatáru, as well as a number of other details and ideas that appear in my works.
> 
> If you are going to use my ideas for fic that excludes LGBTQ+ characters, for reasons religious or other, I do not give you permission to use them, even with credit.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [some vast unnameable fear](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28318458) by [CommanderMollyOBrien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderMollyOBrien/pseuds/CommanderMollyOBrien)




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